Means for securing relatively movable members



April 28, 1964 w. o. BALDUCCI 3,130,994

MEANS FOR SECURING RELATIVELY MOVABLE MEMBERS Filed Jan. 16, 1962 I 30'W' 17 e4 22 /7 /9 32 /6' 20 k 3/ z l as Q 12 w ppm/ An (l: 271- g :1

\lf /8 z/ INVENTOR. Ma 71')? afimzwec/ United States Patent 3,13%,994MEANS FGR SECURING RELATIVELY MSVABLE MEMBERS Waiter 0. Balducei, NewBritain, Conn., assigner to The American Hardware Corporation, NewBritain, Conan, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Jan. 16, 1%2, Ser.No. 166,636 6 Claims. (CL 287-99) This invention relates to means forsecuring relatively movable members, and more particularly to securingmeans including a novel set-screw for securing relatively movablemembers in a predetermined definite relationship.

The primary object of this invention is to provide securing means whichare operable to secure relatively movable members only when said membersare disposed in certain predetermined relative positions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide securing meansincluding a novel set-screw which may be moved to securing position onlywhen the relatively movable members are disposed in said predeterminedrelationship.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novelset-screw which is adapted to be operated by a tool and which isprovided with means for preventing the use of the tool except when saidrelatively movable members are properly oriented.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sockettype set-screwwhich is adapted to be moved to securing position by a wrench, but whichis provided with blocking means preventing insertion of the wrench intothe socket unless said relatively movable members are in properpredetermined position.

And yet another object of this invention is to provide a socket-typeset-screw having a blocking member therein which is eifective to ejectthe wrench from the socket if an attempt is made to secure therelatively movable members when they are in any other but theirpredetermined relative positions.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel set-screwfor securing relatively movable members which may very easily besubstituted for conventional securing screws presently in use.

While the present invention has a great variety of practicalapplications, it is particularly useful in conjunction withemergency-exit door locks. Such locks are employed on the exit doors ofpublic buildings and the like to insure quick and easy egress from thebuilding in the event of fire or other emergency. The locks generallyinclude a panic-bar which extends across the inner side of the door andmechanism for retracting the latch bolt of the lock upon depression ofthe panic-bar to permit opening of the door.

In many instances, it is necessary or desirable to provide means in suchlocks for securing the panic-bar in its depressed position to render thelatch bolt inactive and thus permit free opening and closing movementsof the door. It has been common practice to use conventional set-screwsor the like for this purpose, but in many prior emergency-exit locks itis possible to lock the panic-bar in its normal position with theset-screw and thereby prevent the door from being opened. This extremelydangerous and objectionable characteristic of prior emergency-exit locksis obviated by the present invention as will be apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of the casing of an emergency-exitlock incorporating my novel securing means.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of said casing.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the novelset-screw of the present invention.

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FIG. 4 is a similar view illustrating the set-screw in securingposition.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating another practical application of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating a modified form of set-screwprovided by the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an elevational end view of the set-screw illustrated in FIG.6.

The emergency-exit lock disclosed in the drawing forms no part of thepresent invention, but has merely been selected to illustrate anextremely practical application of my novel securing means.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the numeral 5 denotes the casing of aconventional emergency-exit lock which is adapted to be mounted on theinner side of a door. Said casing includes sidewalls 6 and 6-51 and afront wall '7 having a pair of spaced ears 8-8 extending outwardlytherefrom at the opposite sides of an opening 9 in said ront wall. Apivot pin lltl is mounted in said ears and pivotally supports apanic-bar lever 11 for movement about a horizontal axis extendingtransversely of the casing. Said lever carries at its outer end one endof a panic-bar 12 which extends transversely of the door and isconnected at its opposite end to a similar lever pivotally supported ina separate casing that is mounted on the door.

The panic-bar lever 11 has an operating finger 13 which extends throughthe opening 9 into the interior of the casing 5 and is adapted toactuate the latch bolt retracting mechanism (not shown) containedtherein. Said lever 11 is normally biased to the full-line positionshown, and, upon depression of the panic-bar l2, pivots to the dottedline position shown in FIG. 2 and actuates said retracting mechanism toretract the latch bolt of the lock and permit opening of the door.

It has heretofore been common practice to provide a screw inemergency-exit locks for securing the panic-bar in depressed position toretain the latch bolt of the lock retracted and thereby permit freeopening and closing movement of the door. In locks of the type shown, anordinary socket-type set-screw has generally been used for this purpose.The screw is threaded into a threaded hole 14 formed in the sidewall 6of the lock case on an axis extending perpendicularly to the adjacentside of the operating finger 13 on the panic-bar lever 11, and the hoieis so located that the operating finger 13 is disposed in the path ofthe screw when the panic-bar lever 11 is in its normal position, asshown in FIG. 1 of the drawing. The operating finger 1.; is providedwith a recess 15 in said side thereof which is adapted to receive theinner end of the screw and is movable into alignment therewith when thepanic-bar lever is fully depressed, as shown in dotted lines in HS. 2.In order to secure the panic-bar lever in depressed position, it is onlynecessary to thread the screw into the recess 15 with a suitable wrench.

in prior emergency-exit locks of the present type incorporating anordinary set-screw, adjustment of the screw can be made at any time by aperson possessing the proper wrench. It is therefore possible to tightenthe screw against the side of the operating finger 13 when the panicbarlever is in its normal position and to such an extent that depression ofthe panic-bar and opening of the door are prevented. The dangersmanifest in the use of this type of securing screw are obvious and havebeen responsible for the banning of such locks in many states.

I have therefore devised an extremely novel set-screw for use in suchemergency-exit locks, and in many other devices incorporating relativelymovable members, which cannot be moved to securing position until saidmembers are disposed in a desired relationship.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, my novel set-screw 16 comprises anexternally threaded body portion 17 which is adapted to be threaded intothe threaded hole 34 in the sidewall 6 of the lock case and is movableaxially toward and away from the adjacent side of the operating finger13 of the panic-bar lever 11. The body portion has an axially extendinginner end portion 18 of reduced diameter which is adapted to fit intothe recess in the operating finger, and an axial socket 1l of polygonalcrosssectional configuration at its outer end which is adapted toreceive a conventional wrench indicated in dotted lines at 20 forrotating the screw in the desired direction.

The set-screw contains an axial bore 21 which extends inwardly thereintofrom the bottom of the socket 19, and a separate axial bore 22 ofslightly smaller diameter which extends outwardly from its inner end andterminates in spaced relation to the bore 21 to provide a wall 23therebetween. Said wall contains an axial bore 24 which is of a smallerdiameter than both of the bores 21 and 22 and thus defines opposedannular shoulders 25 and 26 on said wall at the adjacent ends of thebores 21 and 22.

The bores above-described accommodate a plunger 27 which is slidablyaxially in opposite directions in said screw. The plunger comprises apin 28 having a circular head 29 at its outer end which slidably fitsthe socket 19 and a shank portion 39 which extends into the bore 22 andtelescopically receives a tubular retainer 31 which is secured theretoby any suitable means. The plunger is biased axially outwardly in thebody of the screw by a compression spring 32 which is disposed betweenthe head portion 29 and the annular shoulder 25 at the bottom of thebore 21, and axial outward movement of the plunger is limited byengagement of the retainer 31 with the annular shoulder 26 as shown inFIG. 3.

The plunger 27 is of substantially the same length as the overall lengthof the screw body and in its normal outermost position is disposed withthe outer end of the head portion 29 substantially flush with the outerend of the body portion and its inner end substantially flush with theinner end thereof. Thus, when the wrench 2i) is inserted into the socket19, it engages the head 29 of the plunger 27 and shifts said plungeraxially inwardly to project its inner end beyond the inner end of thescrew body. As the wrench is withdrawn, the spring 32 returns theplunger to its normal position.

When the panicbar lever 11 is in its normal position and the set-screw16 is disposed with its inner end closely adjacent thereto, as shown inFIG. 3, insertion of the wrench 29 into the socket 19 far enough topermit rotation of the screw is prevented by the head 2? throughengagement of the inner end of the plunger 27 with the adjacent side ofthe operating finger 13 as shown. If the space between the inner end ofthe set-screw and said side of the operating finger is sufiicient topermit partial or full displacement of the plunger 27 and insertion ofthe wrench 26 into the socket 1%, it will be apparent that the head 29of the plunger will eject the wrench from the socket as the screw ismoved inwardly relatively to the plunger and before the end of the screwcan be brought to bear against the side of the operating finger.

In order to permit adjustment of the sehscrew into securing positionwhen the panic-bar lever is fully depressed, the operating finger 13 onsaid lever is provided with a hole 33 which extends axially thereintofrom the bottom of the recess 15 and is of a diameter to receive theinner end of the plunger 27. Thus, when the panic-bar is fully depressedand the recess 15 and hole 33 are axially aligned with the set-screw,said hole 33 will accommodate the inner end of the plunger 27 to permitfull displacement thereof and insertion of the wrench Zll into thesocket 19 of the set-screw, as shown in FIG. 4. The set-screw may thenbe adjusted to position its reduced inner end 18 in the recess 15 tosecure the panic-bar lever in depressed position.

It will be obvious from the preceding description that my novel securingmeans may be used for securing a variety of relatively movable membersin predetermined positions. As a further example, however, I have shownin E26. 5 of the drawing how the securing means of the present inventionmay be employed to secure a crank-arm 34 in a predetermined angularposition on a shaft 35.

The crank-arm 34 is provided with a threaded, radial hole 34-0! for thereception of the threaded body portion 17 of the set-screw 16 and theshaft 35 is provided with a radial recess 36 in its periphery which isalignable with said hole 34LZ and adapted to receive the reduced endportion 18 of the set-screw. The shaft is also provided with a hole 37which extends axially inwardly from the bottom of the recess 36 toaccommodate the inner end of the plunger 27 when projected beyond theinner end of the screw incidental to insertion of the wrench 20 into thesocket 19 therein. It will be apparent that if an attempt is made tosecure the crank-arm 34 in any other position on the shaft 35, theplunger 27 will preclude the use of the wrench and movement of theset-screw to securing position.

The modified form of set-screw illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 functions inthe same manner as the locking screw 16 above described, but isconstructed somewhat different- 1y. Said screw comprises an externallythreaded body portion 38 having an axially extending end portion 39 ofreduced diameter. The body portion is provided with an axial socket 413of polygonal cross-section in its outer end for the reception of aconventional wrench, such as indicated at 20. An axial recess 41 isprovided in the bottom of said socket ill, and a bore 42 extends axiallyof the locking screw from the bottom of the recess 41 to the inner endthereof, the inner end of the bore 42 preferably being flared asindicated at 43.

The blocking plunger of the modified set-screw comprises an elongatedpin 44 which is slidable in the bore 42 and has a circular head portion45 at the outer end thereof movable axially in the socket 40. Acompression spring 46 is disposed between said head 45 and the bottom ofthe recess 41 and biases the plunger axially outwardly with respect tothe body 38 of the screw. The plunger is retained in the screw by aflared portion 47 at the inner end thereof which fits into the flaredportion 43 of the bore 42, and said plunger is of such length that itsopposite ends will normally be disposed flush with the respective endsof the screw body, as shown in FIG. 6.

The modified locking screw is adapted to be threaded into a threadedhole in one of two relatively movable members, the other of which isprovided with a recess and a hole corresponding to the recess and thehole 15 and 33 respectively, illustrated in FIG. 3. It will beunderstood that the plunger will prevent the use of the wrench 20 unlessthe relatively movable members are disposed in their properpredetermined relationsihp.

The blocking plunger provided by the present invention may also be usedin set-screws which abut the surface of the adjacent member rather thanfit into a recess therein as shown in the drawing. In such cases, it isonly neces sary to provide a hole in the adjacent member, similar to theholes 33 and 37, to receive the inner end of the plunger.

The novel set-screw provided by my invention may also be very easilysubstituted for conventional set-screws presently in use. Inemergency-exit locks of the type shown, it is only necessary to removethe conventional set-screw from the threaded hole 14 in the lock case,depress the panic-bar and then drill a hole 33 in the bottom of therecess 15 by inserting a drill of the proper size through the threadedhole 14. The same procedure may be followed with other types of deviceswhich require the addition of a hole such as the holes 33 and 37 toaccommodate the inner end of the blocking plunger.

I claim:

1. In combination with a pair of relatively movable members intended tobe secured only when in a predetermined relationship; a securing elementadjustably mount ed in one of said members and movable into securingengagement with the other of said members when said members are disposedin said predetermined relationship, said securing element having aportion for receiving a tool for adjusting said element, a blockingmember movably mounted on said securing element for engagement by saidtool and being shiftable thereby toward said other member as said toolis applied to said tool receiving portion, said blocking member beingengageable with said other member when said members are disposed out ofsaid predetermined relationship whereby to prevent shifting thereof andapplication of said tool to said tool receiving portion, and meanspreventing the removal of said blocking member from said securingelement.

2. The subject matter set forth in claim 1 wherein said other member isprovided with a recess alignable with said blocking member when saidmembers are disposed in said predetermined relationship and adapted toreceive said blocking member to permit displacement thereof relativelyto said securing element and application of said tool to said toolreceiving portion.

3. In combination with a pair of relatively movable members intended tobe secured only when in a predetermined relationship; a securing screwthreaded into one of said members and movable axially toward the otherof said members for securing said members in said predeterminedrelationship, said screw having a portion adjacent its end opposite saidother member for receiving a tool for rotating said screw, a blockingmember carried by said screw and movable axially thereof, said blockingmember having a blocking portion engageable by said tool and beingshiftable axially of said screw toward said other member when said toolis applied to said tool receiving portion, said other member having arecess alignable with said blocking member when said members aredisposed in said predetermined relationship and adapted to receive saidblocking member to permit the application of said tool to said portionof the screw and adjustment thereof into securing engagement with saidother member, and said blocking member being engageable with said othermember when said members are disposed out of said predeterminedrelationship to prevent shifting thereof by said tool and theapplication of said tool to said tool receiving portion, and meanspreventing the removal of said blocking member from said securing screw.

4. In combination with a pair of relatively movable members intended tobe secured only when in a predetermined relationship; a securing elementadjustably mounted in one of said members and movable into securingengagement with the other of said members when said members are disposedin said predetermined relationship, said securing element having aportion for receiving a tool for adjusting said element, a blockingmember carried by said securing element for blocking said tool toprevent the application thereof to said tool receiving portion, saidblocking member being held in tool blocking position through engagementthereof with said other member when said members are disposed in otherthan said predetermined relationship to thereby prevent adjustment ofsaid securing element with said tool, and means preventing the removalof said blocking member from said securing element.

5. In combination with a pair of relatively movable members intended tobe secured only when in a predetermined relationship; a securing elementadjustably mounted in one of said members and movable into securingposition engaging the other of said members when said members aredisposed in said predetermined relationship, said securing elementhaving a portion for receiving a tool for adjusting said element, ablocking member carried by said securing element engageable with saidother member when said members are disposed in other than saidpredetermined relationship, said securing element being movable towardsecuring position relatively to said blocking member when said blockingmember is so engaged and said blocking member being arranged to ejectsaid tool from said tool receiving portion before said securing elementreaches securing position, and means preventing the removal of saidblocking member from said securing element.

6. In combination with a pair of relatively movable members intended tobe secured only when in a predetermined relationship; a securing screwthreaded into one of said members and adjustable axially into and out ofsecuring engagement with the other of said members, said screw having aportion at its end opposite said other member for receiving a tool foradjusting said screw, a blocking member carried by said screw and beingmovable axially thereof, said blocking member being of substantially thesame length as said screw and being adapted to occupy a position whereinits ends are disposed substantially flush with the ends of said screw,said blocking member being retained in said position through engagementthereof with said other member when said members are out of saidpredetermined relationship and when so disposed preventing theapplication of said tool to said tool receiving portion, said othermember having a recess therein alignable with said blocking member whensaid members are disposed in said predetermined relationship and adaptedto receive said blocking member whereby to permit displacement thereofrelatively to said screw by said tool and application of said tool tosaid tool receiving portion, and means preventing the removal of saidblocking member from said securing screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,369,297 Johnson Feb. 13, 1945 2,532,815 Kindsvatter Dec. 5, 19502,836,451 Clifton May 27, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 706,271 Great BritainMar. 24, 1954

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A PAIR OF RELATIVELY MOVABLE MEMBERS INTENDED TOBE SECURED ONLY WHEN IN A PREDETERMINED RELATIONSHIP; A SECURING ELEMENTADJUSTABLY MOUNTED IN ONE OF SAID MEMBERS AND MOVABLE INTO SECURINGENGAGEMENT WITH THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS WHEN SAID MEMBERS ARE DISPOSEDIN SAID PREDETERMINED RELATIONSHIP, SAID SECURING ELEMENT HAVING APORTION FOR RECEIVING A TOOL FOR ADJUSTING SAID ELEMENT, A BLOCKINGMEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SECURING ELEMENT FOR ENGAGEMENT BY SAIDTOOL AND BEING SHIFTABLE THEREBY TOWARD SAID OTHER MEMBER AS SAID TOOLIS APPLIED TO SAID TOOL RECEIVING PORTION, SAID BLOCKING MEMBER BEINGENGAGEABLE WITH SAID OTHER MEMBER WHEN SAID MEMBERS ARE DISPOSED OUT OFSAID PREDETERMINED RELATIONSHIP WHEREBY TO PREVENT SHIFTING THEREOF ANDAPPLICATION OF SAID TOOL TO SAID TOOL RECEIVING PORTION, AND MEANSPREVENTING THE REMOVAL OF SAID BLOCKING MEMBER FROM SAID SECURINGELEMENT.